The present invention relates to a door handle adapted to apply liquid or gel to a user's hand.
Application of disinfectant gel to users' hands is recognised to improve cleanliness and control spread of infection, particularly in public buildings such as schools and hospitals. Typically self standing or wall mounted disinfectant sprays or pumps are fitted at door ways to allow a user to apply the disinfectant before entering a building or entering a room within the building. However, despite being instructed, not all users apply the disinfectant. Therefore, an alternative approach is needed.
A known approach is to provide a door handle that applies a disinfectant in the form of a liquid or gel to a user's hand. Known door handles for applying liquid or gel to a user's hand fall within two designs.
In the first design, a door handle is fitted with a pump arrangement, typically in the form of a piston [1, 2, 3]. The pump is in fluid communication with a reservoir containing the disinfectant liquid or gel. The pump is also coupled to the door handle and the door, such that the rotary action of the door handle being turned by a user to open the door actuates the pump. When the pump is actuated the disinfectant is applied to a surface of the door handle. A similar pump device has also been applied to a pull-handle [1]. The pull-handle is mounted to a door using mounting points that allow the handle to move with respect to the mounting points when the door handle is pulled to open the door. A pump arrangement is fitted within the door handle and coupled between the mounting points and the door handle. When the door is opened, the door handle moves with respect to its mounting points, such that the disinfectant is pumped from a reservoir coupled to the pump and onto a surface of the door handle.
In the second design, the door handle is provided with a grip that is provided with a disinfectant gel or liquid. The disinfectant gel or liquid may be supplied from a reservoir. When a user grips the door handle the disinfectant liquid or gel is applied to the user's hand. The grip may include a porous cover [4, 5, 6] or the handle may be provided with an absorbent material within a hollow grip, such that he absorbent martial is exposed through holes in the hollow grip [5, 7]. The grip may include a plastic shroud having a fluid outlet in the form of a flap, such that when the door handle is gripped the cover is deformed to open the flap [8].
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved disinfectant liquid or gel applying door handle.